Cretul spokeswoman Jill Chamberlin said, "The feeling was it just wasn't ready for passage." She declined further comment.

Gaetz promised to bring up the bill again next year.

"We need public accountability and transparency," he said, "that does not rely solely on the virtues or lack of same of the board members."

Jeanne Dariotis, who handles legislative matters for the blood-bank industry in Florida, said she was pleased that the Gaetz bill will not become law. But she objected to the notion that the industry was overly aggressive in its efforts.

FBC spent almost $90,000 on lobbyists to fight the bill, and the industry employed a well-known firm, GrayRobinson of Orlando, to go against Gaetz.

Susan Forbes, a spokeswoman for FBC, declined to discuss the bill. FBC Chairman Rick Walsh was on vacation and could not be reached.

In an e-mail to the Orlando Sentinel, Forbes wrote, "Our job is to be the best and most transparent blood center in the industry. We already voluntarily disclose the vast majority of information that the proposed regulations would require, and our efforts are focused on continuing to make sure every community we serve has a reliable and safe blood supply."

The bill would have forced the state's six major blood banks to disclose their expenses and income by filing a report annually with a state agency.

"This, to me, was not needed legislation," Dariotis said.

Gaetz's bill was prompted, in part, by a series of stories in the OrlandoSentinel that outlined questionable business practices of FBC. Among them: allowing board members to annually sell more than $1 million worth of goods and services to the nonprofit; the lack of term limits for board members; and high salaries paid to executives, including former chief administrator Anne Chinoda. Her compensation nearly doubled during her seven years in charge, ending up at $605,000 a year.

The senator opened an investigation last year, which culminated in a hearing at which Chinoda promised full cooperation. Walsh said last week that he was worried the bill would force blood banks to disclose pricing data that is better kept secret from competitors.

FBC has, in recent months, begun to overhaul its operations. Chinoda resigned under pressure last month, receiving a $380,000 severance package. The board instituted term limits of no more than nine years and banned business deals with the agency.

A week ago, Walsh took over as chairman from Leighton Yates, who held the post for 15 years. Yates was general counsel to the agency, earning his firm, Holland & Knight, more than $1 million since 2003, IRS forms indicate.

Walsh also brought on 10 new board members and vowed to make FBC more accountable to the public. He has posted on the agency Web site an IRS document that offers a broad look at FBC's finances from 2008.

Gaetz said he has been impressed by FBC's reforms.

"I welcome all of these changes," he said. "I think the quality of some of the new board members is admirable. But I think it is in the public's interest to verify that these changes take place."